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Volcanoes, Palm Trees & Privilege
Volcanoes, Palm Trees & Privilege: Essays on Hawai'i | Liz Prato
1 post | 1 read | 3 to read
". . . a rebuke to cultural appropriation, combined with tribute to a place she loves too much to make her own."- New York Times Book Review "...a complicated love letter to a place and powerful reckoning of a life." - Cheryl Strayed, author of Wild and Tiny Beautiful Things "Prato's work stays winningly informal and idiosyncratic throughout and....coalesces into an intriguing and informative journey through the 50th state." - Publishers Weekly "This book is a love letter to the land and people of Hawai'i, a secular devotional to a place that has woven its way into Liz Prato's heart. Breathtaking." - Lidia Yuknavitch, author of The Book of Joan Liz Prato combines lyricism, research and humor to explore her role as a white tourist in a seemingly paradisiacal land that has been largely formed and destroyed by white outsiders. Hawaiian history, pop culture, and contemporary affairs are masterfully woven with her personal narrative of loss and survival in linked essays, offering unique insight into how the touristic ideal of Hawai'i came to be, and what Hawai'i is at its core.
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Liz Prato is a frequent visitor to Hawaii and feels very connected to it. Here she writes about that connection and her family. It‘s a bit of a mixed bag. Her writing about her family is lovely, and while her connection to Hawaii is nice, she fails to recognize her own contradictions and wants to claim the place in a way she really shouldn‘t. (Please, don‘t try using Pidgin.) Pick for parts, so-so for other bits.

squirrelbrain Hmm, bit ironic when the title of the book includes ‘privilege‘. 🤷‍♀️ 2mo
dabbe 🖤🐾🖤 2mo
Hooked_on_books @squirrelbrain Right? It‘s interesting. She‘s never lived in Hawaii, says how important it is to respect the culture and the people (good), talks about how bad the resorts are for the locals (true), then goes on about how much she loves the hotels and turns her nose up at the places where people actually live. It‘s so odd that she doesn‘t see it! 2mo
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